The Way You Are: Last ReZort
by corneroffandom
Summary: Zack's new show's origins.


It's dark and quiet outside. Dolph Ziggler sighs as he stares out of the window of Zack Ryder's apartment, idly tapping his fingers against the sill. He should be asleep, but he can't stop thinking long enough to actually rest. Things in WWE have been in flux lately, more so than normal, and it leaves most of them fighting against the tide for even the littlest amount of time. Especially, he knows, the man sleeping behind him. He sighs and shakes his head, turning back to look at Zack with a faint frown. As iffy as his own amount of TV time is, many others have it much worse- those who _want_ to be used unable to do anything but watch as their career passes them by, sitting in catering or at home.

He's so lost in his thoughts that he doesn't notice at first as the bed squeaks, nor the footsteps walking towards him. "Hey, bro," Zack mutters sleepily, tugging at his hands. "What're you doing over here? Come back to bed... it's too cold-"

But Dolph doesn't move, staring back at him blankly. "Hey, kid?"

Zack wakes up a bit more at the tone of his voice, stepping closer to him. "What is it, bro? You're kind of worrying me... is something wrong?"

"No," Ziggler mutters, rubbing circles in his knuckles. "I guess I'm just thinking."

"What about?"

"You," he confesses lowly. "All of this, what WWE's doing." Zack looks confused, almost wounded at this, trying to pull his hands away, but Dolph clings to him. "No, wait, just listen. Kid, I know things are rough right now, but... Z!TLIS worked for you before." Zack starts to shake his head desperately, eyes darting everywhere but on Dolph's face. "Hey, look at me. Zack. Please."

"Bro, look, it's late and I just- I don't want to talk about it..." He pulls away and starts to trudge back to bed but Dolph snags him, pulling him flush against his chest. "Bro-"

"No, kid. I'm not joking. Just listen to me," he whispers into his hair. "Please? I have an... well, I think an idea. Just give it a chance, alright?"

Zack slumps against him and sighs. "Fine, I'll listen, but can we get some sleep then?"

Dolph nods, leading him over to the couch. "I know that you put a lot of work into Z!TLIS, and what I'm thinking about isn't to disregard all of that, but to... grow on it. You've seen my app promos, it seems to be working, at least they're booking me more often again."

Zack leans back against the cushions, listening. "Alright, bro. What are you suggesting I do then?"

Bright lights are gleaming into Dolph's face when he grunts and shifts, burying his face in sheets to try to block it out. This fails, however, when a soft kiss is pressed to his shoulder, drawing him closer to the waking world. "Zack?" His response is another warm press of lips to flesh and he sighs, rolling over to face the broski. "What's going on?" he mutters sleepily.

"Well, this was your idea, I thought you should be awake to see it," Zack shrugs. "C'mon, bro."

"You're getting revenge for me keeping you awake last night, aren't you?" he mutters, allowing himself to be dragged to his feet and into the other room. "What're you-" His words abruptly cut off as he gets a good look around, his hands drifting back to his sides. "Oh. You're going to begin filming? For real?"

"Yeah." Zack rests a hand on the tripod, smiling slightly. "The more I thought about it, the better it sounded. I didn't get much more sleep because of it..." He narrows his eyes warningly at Dolph before walking to the corner, turning to face the camera. "So, I guess I'll give it a try, who knows, maybe I'll learn how to properly edit things this go around."

Dolph nods, running his fingers through his hair as he examines the set up, how Zack looks. "Hey, kid, one thing. If you're going to change things up, look and be different from how you were with the first show, I think you need..." He ducks out of the room and digs around in Zack's closet, looking for just the right thing... "Aha," he mutters, tugging out what he's been looking for. Returning to the room, he walks over to Zack and tugs the leather jacket he'd found over his shoulders, examining how it looks. "Not bad," he mutters. "In fact, you look really good in that jacket, why don't you wear it more often?"

Zack shrugs. "I dunno bro, I forgot I had it for awhile, I guess. Where did you find it?" He runs his fingers along the collar of the jacket, amazed at how soft it still feels. "This does look pretty good, huh? I think it might work, bro. Thanks so much for helping me... encouraging me to figure out what to try next." He swallows, staring up into Ziggler's face. "I was kinda close to giving up."

Dolph nods, taking a deep breath. "I know, kid. You deserve so much more than this... and I'll do anything I can to help you accomplish that."

Zack smiles, stroking his face. "Thanks, bro." He leans against the wall and stares into the camera. "But now that everything's set up and I'm dressed..." He releases a faint breath. "I'm not sure what to do or say."

Running his fingers through his hair, Ziggler takes his place behind the camera. "Just... look into the lens and say everything you've been feeling about what's been going on, let it all out. It always works for me when I do my promos. We'll crop it together and edit what's needed afterwards." Zack looks surprised at Dolph's offer to help and the show-off smirks at him. "Remember when you gave me time on Z!TLIS so I could finally have a way to talk to the WWE universe? Well, this is like that, only it's all yours. Go for it, kid, on a count of three."

He holds a different finger up every few seconds, only pressing the button to film once all three fingers are up, and nods at Zack, standing back to watch through the camera screen as Zack addresses the WWE Universe this way for the first time in months, growing more at ease in it the longer he talks. He looks really good. Dolph smiles, holding onto hope that _this _will bring good things for the other man.


End file.
